
What order do you Auscultate your lungs?
- While the patient breathes normally with mouth open, auscultate the lungs, making sure to auscultate the apices and middle and lower lung fields posteriorly, laterally and anteriorly.
- Alternate and compare sides.
- Use the diaphragm of the stethoscope.
- First listen with quiet respiration.
What is the order for auscultating breath sounds?
- Auscultation should be done in a quiet room, preferably in a sitting position. ...
- Always warm up the cold stethoscope by rubbing the chest piece in your hands before placing it on naked body. ...
- Ask the patient to take deep breaths through the open mouth.
How to document normal breath sounds?
When documenting the lung sounds, they are usually described by:
- duration (how long the sound lasts)
- pitch (how low or high the sound is)
- intensity (how loud the sound is)
- timing (when the sound occurs in the respiratory cycle)
When auscultating Jeremy's breath sounds?
When Auscultating Jeremy's breath sounds in what order should the PN's actions take place? Stand behind the client. listen to the posterior thorax breath sounds beginning at apex of lungs.
How to perform chest auscultation and interpret the findings?
- Upper zone: below the clavicles and above the cardiac silhouette;
- Mid zone: level of the hilar structures;
- Lower zone: bases.

What is the correct order to Auscultate lungs?
Starting with the upper lobe move to the middle lobe, and finally the lower lobe at the bottom (Ferns and West, 2008). Repeat on the left side where the lung is made up of an upper lobe and lower lobe.
What are the 4 steps of a lung assessment and how do you do them?
The pulmonary examination consists of inspection, palpation, percussion, and auscultation. The inspection process initiates and continues throughout the patient encounter. Palpation, confirmed by percussion, assesses for tenderness and degree of chest expansion.
Which step should be performed first in a respiratory assessment?
Visual Inspection - is the first step of the examination. This is a very important part of the exam, since many abnormalities can be detected by merely inspecting the thorax as the patient is breathing. Palpation - is the first step of the assessment, where we will touch the patient.
How do you perform a lung assessment?
6:019:35Lung Auscultation | Assessing Lung Sounds Part 2 - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipThe lower lobes in your posterior. View you have more ability to auscultate the lower lobes. ThenMoreThe lower lobes in your posterior. View you have more ability to auscultate the lower lobes. Then compared to the anterior view where you're gonna really be assessing the upper lips.
How many lobes are there in the right lung?
The right lung is divided into 3 main lobes which are separated by the oblique and horizontal fissures. These lobes are: the superior, middle and inferior lobes. The left lung is separated by the oblique fissure into 2 main lobes: the superior and inferior. During auscultation, the clinician listens for abnormal breath sounds in these lobes by ...
What is the act of listening to sounds made by internal organs and vessels of the human body?
Auscultation is the act of listening to sounds made by internal organs and vessels of the human body. This is usually done with a device called a stethoscope. It is a technique used to examine the respiratory system (breath sounds), cardiovascular system (heart sounds and vascular bruits) and gastrointestinal system (bowel sounds).
How does a clinician move?
The clinician will move in a zig-zag pattern, moving back and forth from one side of the body to the other, as they work their way down the chest and back. They will ask the patient to take deep breaths in and out and as air flows in and out of the lungs, any abnormal breath sounds will be picked up by the clinician.
What are the characters of breath sounds?
There are 3 main characters of breath sounds and they include: Quality: A normal breath sound (vesicular breath sound) should not have any additional sounds.
Why is the respiratory exam important?
It is a vital part of the respiratory examination as it can be used to identify certain diseases based on abnormal breath sounds. The clinician can identify the exact location of the auscultation points on the patient through the combined knowledge of surface anatomy, the skeleton and the main lobes of the lungs.
Which chest is preferred for lung auscultation?
→ If you go below the sixth intercostal space during anterior auscultation, you will begin to hear intestinal sounds instead of breath sounds. → The posterior chest is preferred for lung auscultation because there are fewer bones and muscles to disperse sounds.
Where can you hear pleural rubs?
Often the sound of pleural rubs can be localized to a specific location in the lung and chest area . Pleural friction rub sounds can be continuous or broken and will be heard every time the patient takes a breath. (This is a predominately inspiratory low frequency sound.
What is crackles lung?
Crackles Lung Sounds. Crackles lung sounds can be trickier for EMTs and paramedics than other adventitious lung sounds for a variety of reasons. Crackles lung sounds can be categorized both by the sound quality and when they are heard in the respiratory cycle.
Why are rhonchi and stridor all lung sounds?
Wheezing, rhonchi, stridor, crackles and pleural friction rub are all adventitious lung sounds because you will hear extra noises in the airways during the assessment. Absent and diminished breath sounds are also abnormal, but they are not considered to be adventitious lung sounds.
What is a stridor in an infant?
Stridor Lung Sounds. (Stridor in an infant.) Stridor lung sounds are frequently heard in children and are caused by something blocking the larynx. Stridor breathing is continuous and tends to be one of the easier adventitious lung sounds for EMTs to recognize.
What is the sound of a wheezing lung?
Wheezing lung sounds are one of the easier to identify breath sounds for EMTs and paramedics. The wheezing sound can be heard during inhalation or exhalation and it’s caused by a narrowing of the airways. Wheezing lung sounds are continuous and can be heard throughout the lungs.
Why do EMTs listen to breath sounds?
However, listening to breath sounds posteriorly is recommended because there are fewer bones, muscles, and organs to disrupt the lung sounds.
